Simply Spotlight shines a light on the stories behind Simply clients and their businesses
Maryna Symes, Director of Zebra Liquidators, took some time to share with us her approach to business success, finding balance and building valuable teams. Maryna started the company in Boksburg in 2004 and now has a team 14 strong. Each day they must manage the meticulous and emotionally charged work of liquidations and sequestrations.
“Zebra deals not only with insolvency matters and liquidations, but also assists in forensic investigations and takes on the roles of trustees, curators and executors of deceased estates.” (Maryna herself specialises in investigation and dispute resolution as well as business rescue.)
“No-one starts a business for it to go bankrupt. And I don’t think that any director sitting in front of me, started their business thinking they would have to visit a liquidator. There’s a lot of hurt and it can be traumatic – for many their business is like their child – they have spent a lot of time nurturing it. It’s difficult. It can also be devastating to staff.”
“I always explain to people that we’re like commercial undertakers – you can’t blame the undertaker for the death – we’re there to clean up and make sure the beneficiaries receive what is due to them. If you don’t have a healthy liquidation industry, you don’t have a healthy economy.”
What do you find is the biggest challenge as a small business owner and how do you overcome it?
“I think the greatest challenge any business owner must overcome is to have balance – I don’t think that anyone who starts a business has that balance between your personal life and your home life. After all these years, I still don’t have that balance. “When you start, you learn to look after everything, and the business struggles without you. But you need to start believing that others can do the job as well as you can. Delegation is very important. It can get you a little closer to balance.
“My business is based on faith. I believe that God’s never late. He might make us wait, but he’s never late. So if you can learn to accept that you can’t control everything, that also helps. I’ve also got faith that if I’ve done my best and I don’t succeed then it’s meant to be. Then I can find calmness.”
What has helped your business to succeed?
“I work very long hours, and I believe that your service is your best marketing tool. There’s nothing more important than that. Keep promises and do what you say you’re going to do. When you do something, do it right the first time, because mistakes cause delays, and delays cost money.
“I know that if I’ve done my best, God will do the rest. This also helps me find calm.”
What advice do you have when it comes to building great teams?
“The biggest potential pitfall for a company is your staff. Your staff can be your company’s most valuable asset, but also your downfall.
“Even if you do three or four interviews, there’s no way you can realise what they’re all about until they’re working for you. It’s trial and error. I’ve made a few disastrous appointments. What I’ve learnt through that is, don’t make a panic appointment. Just like dating, if you’re desperate your judgement is not as good. Never make an appointment when you’re desperate.”
“Also, if someone doesn’t have the right skills you can always train them, but if you have someone with a negative attitude it’s never going to work. I put a lot into training. That’s vital. If you don’t provide your staff with training and you don’t empower them, you’re never going to get the results. Because the more they know, the more their confidence will grow.”
Why did you take out Simply cover for your staff?
“I feel this product is incredible in terms of it giving you as an employer peace of mind that if something happens, you can say to the family: I can’t replace your parent, but here is something to replace some of the income. For a small company it’s such a vital tool. Because smaller companies don’t usually have the fringe benefits, it’s something you can offer without breaking the bank.
“I know as a small business, that if a staff member or a member of their family passes away, there’s going to be a gap in them being at work. Also, it may sound selfish, but I don’t want my staff sitting and worrying about a debt they may have from having to cover a funeral. That affects their productivity, and in a small business, you feel that more.
“I think lots of smaller businesses don’t think about the fact that their lower-income staff don’t have the means to make the provision for something unexpected. And when something bad happens, they’ll look at the employer to help them fix it. This cover relieves me of the pressure of finding resources to help when I may not have them right when they are needed.”
Why did you choose Simply?
“I saw it on Facebook. By the time I found Simply, I’d been looking for a product like it for a few years already.
“Bear in mind that we work with a lot of people who are insolvent. A lot of these people have funeral or other cover through their store or bank accounts. When they are then sequestrated, they don’t have any cover because they’ve missed payments. The policy can’t be rejuvenated. So my initial journey started by trying to find out if there was any company who was prepared to underwrite people who had been sequestrated, because it can be hard for them to get cover. I went to a few companies and asked them if they could write something like that, but they wouldn’t.
“Simply gave me the opportunity to provide my team with a little something that can give them peace of mind. Also, it doesn’t tie people’s cover to me. If they choose to leave, they can keep up with the premium payments themselves. I’ve told a lot of people about it.”
Thank you to Maryna for covering her team with Simply, and taking the time to share her business insights with the Simply community.